ERP Integration

Overview

Build integrations between e-commerce platforms and ERP systems (SAP, NetSuite, Odoo, Microsoft Dynamics) for bidirectional sync of orders, inventory, customers, and products. This skill covers integration architecture patterns (event-driven, polling, middleware), data mapping, conflict resolution, error handling with retry strategies, and idempotent sync that prevents duplicate records.

When to Use This Skill

• When connecting a storefront to an ERP for automated order fulfillment
• When syncing real-time inventory levels from an ERP/WMS to the e-commerce catalog
• When building customer master data sync between the storefront and ERP
• When implementing product and pricing feeds from the ERP to the storefront
• When designing a middleware layer to handle multiple integration points

Core Instructions

Step 1: Determine your platform and integration approach

Platform	Integration Option	Recommended Approach
Shopify	Shopify Admin API + webhooks for order data	Use Zapier (no-code, $20/month) or Celigo (iPaaS) for standard ERP connectors; for NetSuite use the official NetSuite Connector for Shopify app; for custom needs use Shopify webhooks
WooCommerce	WooCommerce REST API + WordPress hooks	Use Zapier for simple flows; install the Zynk WooCommerce connector (from £500) for SAP/NetSuite; or build a custom integration using WooCommerce's REST API
BigCommerce	BigCommerce API + webhooks	Use Celigo or Boomi for enterprise ERP connectors; BigCommerce has pre-built connectors for NetSuite, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics in the App Marketplace
Custom / Headless	Full API access — build a middleware service	Implement event-driven order sync (store webhooks → queue → ERP adapter), polling-based inventory sync (scheduled job → ERP API → update catalog), and a dead-letter queue for failed syncs

Step 2: Platform-specific ERP integration

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Shopify

Use a pre-built connector for standard ERPs:

1. For NetSuite: Install the official NetSuite Connector for Shopify from the Shopify App Store ($150-$300/month). It syncs orders, inventory, and customers bidirectionally with no custom code
2. For SAP: Use Celigo's SAP + Shopify integration template or contact your SAP partner for their Shopify connector
3. For Odoo: Install the Odoo Shopify Connector module in Odoo (free, community edition) — configure your Shopify API credentials in Odoo's settings

For custom ERP connections using Shopify webhooks:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Notifications → Webhooks
2. Click Create webhook and add endpoints for orders/create, orders/paid, and inventory_levels/update
3. Your ERP middleware endpoint receives order data in JSON and transforms it to the ERP's format
4. For inventory sync back to Shopify, use the Inventory API to update levels after each ERP poll

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WooCommerce

Use Zapier for simple, low-volume ERP sync:

1. Connect WooCommerce and your ERP (NetSuite, Odoo, Sage) in zapier.com
2. Create a Zap: trigger = New Order in WooCommerce, action = Create Sales Order in NetSuite
3. Map the WooCommerce order fields to your ERP's required fields in Zapier's field mapper
4. Zapier polls WooCommerce every 15 minutes on the free plan; upgrade to Starter ($19.99/month) for faster polling

For higher volume or custom ERP connections:

1. Install WP Webhooks (free, wordpress.org) to send WooCommerce events to your middleware
2. Use the WooCommerce REST API (/wp-json/wc/v3/orders) with OAuth 1.0a for your middleware to pull orders
3. For inventory sync from ERP to WooCommerce, use the WooCommerce Products API (PUT /wp-json/wc/v3/products/{id}) to update stock_quantity

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Custom / Headless

Integration architecture — choose the pattern that fits your ERP:

Event-Driven (recommended for real-time order sync):
  Storefront → Webhook/Event → Message Queue (SQS/BullMQ) → ERP Adapter

Polling (for ERPs without webhooks, like legacy SAP installations):
  Scheduler → Poll ERP API → Transform → Update Storefront

Middleware Platform (for complex multi-system environments):
  Storefront ↔ Celigo / MuleSoft / Workato ↔ ERP

Idempotent order sync service:

// lib/erp/order-sync.ts
export async function syncOrder(orderId: string): Promise<void> {
  const order = await db.orders.getWithItems(orderId);

  // Check if already synced
  const existingSync = await db.syncLog.findByOrderId(orderId);
  if (existingSync?.status === 'synced') return;

  // Check ERP for existing record (guards against retries after partial failure)
  const existing = await erpAdapter.findOrderByExternalReference(order.orderNumber);
  if (existing) {
    await db.syncLog.upsert({ orderId, externalId: existing.erpOrderId, status: 'synced' });
    return;
  }

  try {
    const erpOrder = mapOrderToERP(order);
    const { erpOrderId } = await erpAdapter.createSalesOrder(erpOrder);
    await db.syncLog.upsert({ orderId, externalId: erpOrderId, status: 'synced', syncedAt: new Date() });
    await db.orders.updateMetadata(orderId, { erpOrderId });
  } catch (error) {
    await db.syncLog.upsert({ orderId, status: 'failed', lastError: error.message });
    throw error; // Let the retry mechanism handle it
  }
}

function mapOrderToERP(order: Order): ERPSalesOrder {
  return {
    externalReference: order.orderNumber,
    orderDate: order.createdAt.toISOString().split('T')[0],
    customer: {
      externalId: order.customer?.erpCustomerId || null,
      email: order.email,
      name: `${order.shippingAddress.firstName} ${order.shippingAddress.lastName}`,
    },
    shippingAddress: {
      line1: order.shippingAddress.street1,
      city: order.shippingAddress.city,
      state: order.shippingAddress.state,
      postalCode: order.shippingAddress.postalCode,
      country: order.shippingAddress.country,
    },
    lineItems: order.lineItems.map(item => ({
      sku: item.sku,
      quantity: item.quantity,
      unitPrice: item.unitPrice / 100,   // Convert cents to dollars for ERP
      taxAmount: item.taxAmount / 100,
    })),
    orderTotal: order.totalPrice / 100,
    currency: order.currency,
  };
}

BullMQ queue for reliable order sync with exponential backoff retries:

import { Queue, Worker, QueueEvents } from 'bullmq';

const orderSyncQueue = new Queue('order-sync', {
  connection: { host: process.env.REDIS_HOST, port: 6379 },
  defaultJobOptions: {
    attempts: 5,
    backoff: { type: 'exponential', delay: 5000 }, // 5s, 10s, 20s, 40s, 80s
    removeOnComplete: { count: 1000 },
    removeOnFail: { count: 5000 },
  },
});

// Producer: enqueue when order is placed
export async function onOrderPlaced(orderId: string) {
  await orderSyncQueue.add('sync-order', { orderId }, {
    jobId: `order-sync-${orderId}`, // Prevents duplicate queue entries
  });
}

// Consumer: process sync
new Worker('order-sync', async (job) => {
  await syncOrder(job.data.orderId);
}, { connection: { host: process.env.REDIS_HOST, port: 6379 }, concurrency: 5 });

Inventory sync (polling-based, ERP to storefront):

// lib/erp/inventory-sync.ts — run via scheduled job every 5 minutes
export async function syncInventoryLevels(): Promise<void> {
  const lastSyncAt = await redis.get('erp:inventory:last_sync');
  let page = 1, hasMore = true;

  while (hasMore) {
    const { items, hasMore: more } = await erpAdapter.getInventoryLevels({
      page, pageSize: 500,
      modifiedSince: lastSyncAt ? new Date(lastSyncAt) : undefined,
    });

    for (const item of items) {
      // Available = On Hand - Reserved - Safety Stock
      const available = Math.max(0, item.onHandQuantity - item.reservedQuantity - (item.safetyStock || 0));
      const current = await db.inventory.getQuantityBySku(item.sku);
      if (current === available) continue; // Skip unchanged

      await db.inventory.updateBySku(item.sku, { quantity: available, lastSyncedAt: new Date() });
      // Update Redis cache for real-time product page availability
      const productId = await db.inventory.getProductIdBySku(item.sku);
      if (productId) await redis.setex(`inventory:${productId}`, 3600, String(available));
    }

    hasMore = more;
    page++;
  }

  await redis.set('erp:inventory:last_sync', new Date().toISOString());
}

Best Practices

• Make every sync operation idempotent — use external references (order number, SKU) to check for existing ERP records before creating; this prevents duplicates from retries
• Use a message queue for order sync — never call the ERP synchronously during checkout; enqueue and process asynchronously with retries
• Implement a dead-letter queue — after all retries are exhausted, move failed jobs to a DLQ for manual inspection; never silently drop messages
• Use delta sync, not full sync — query the ERP for records modified since the last sync timestamp; full syncs don't scale past a few thousand records
• Store the ERP record ID on your local records — after syncing an order, save the ERP order ID on your record for cross-referencing and future status lookups
• Calculate available inventory correctly — available = onHand - reserved - safetyStock and clamp to zero; never use raw on-hand quantity from the ERP

Common Pitfalls

Problem	Solution
Duplicate orders in ERP from retry logic	Use the e-commerce order number as an external reference and check for its existence before creating; most ERPs support duplicate-check on external IDs
Inventory quantities go negative after sync	Clamp available quantity to zero; Math.max(0, onHand - reserved - safetyStock)
ERP rate limits cause sync failures	Implement per-operation rate limiters (token bucket) and use the ERP's bulk/feed API for large batches instead of individual item calls
Price sync overwrites promotional prices	Separate base prices (from ERP) from promotional prices (managed in your commerce platform); never let ERP sync overwrite active promotions
Large initial data load times out	Break the initial sync into batches with checkpointing so you can resume after a failure; process in parallel with concurrency limits

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